Lex Ishimoto wins ‘So You Think You Can Dance’

Lex Ishimoto of Irvine won Season 14 of "So You Think You Can Dance" on Monday night. (Photo by Adam Rose/Fox)

Days before the “So You Think You Can Dance” finale on Monday, Sept. 25, Lex Ishimoto, 19, was feeling pretty calm.

“Most of the stress is gone now because the results are out of my control,” the Irvine resident in a phone interview last week. “I am very content with my final performances. I did my job and whatever happens is meant to be.”

This motivation — along with his quiet confidence and exceptional talent— earned him a spot in Monday night’s Season 14 finale where he was up against fellow contemporary dancers Koine Iwasaki and Taylor Sieve and ballroom dancer Kiki Nyemchek.

Having never been in the bottom three and receiving mostly praises from the “So You Think You Can Dance” judges, Ishimoto seemed favored to win the $250,000 prize and title of America’s Favorite Dancer” but did America’s TV voters think the same thing?

It seems they did.

After a strong run, Ishimoto was crowned America’s Favorite Dancer for Season 14 of “So You Think You Can Dance.”

Ishimoto came in on top in front of contemporary dancer Koine Iwasaki from south Florida who finished second, Taylor Sieve who finished third and Chris “Kiki” Nyemchek who finished fourth and was eliminated first.

His New York audition, which aired back in July, rendered judges Mary Murphy, Nigel Lythgoe and Vanessa Hudgens practically speechless with Lythgoe finally saying, “You, sir, are going to be a star.”

And it appears he was right.

But win or lose Ishimoto seemed primed for success in the dance world.

The Irvine native started dance at age 7, taking hip-hop and ballet classes at West Coast School of the Arts in Costa Mesa. By age 12, he was playing the title role in a touring production of the Tony Award-winning hit “Billy Elliot.”

His mentor and dance instructor, Zak Ryan Schlegel said, “I began training Lex when he was 9 years old. … He was a standout upon first meeting. He possessed a glaring desire to push past his limits.”

In the years that followed, Ishimoto competed in the finals of the Youth America Grand Prix finals, one of the the world’s premier student ballet competitions, and was a grand finalist in the Los Angeles Music Center Spotlight Awards for non-classical dance.

A former student at Orange County School of the Arts, Ishimoto also trained with the Boston Ballet’s second company, BBII, for the 2016-17 season before moving back to Los Angeles to pursue a commercial dance career.

Most recently, Ishimoto performed in “So You Think You Can Dance” season 2 alumni Travis Wall’s original touring production of “Shaping Sound.”

And then came “So You Think You Can Dance.”

“This show is a lot of dancers’ motivation. I’ve kind of been in the shadows, I’ve been on the low,” said Ishimoto who is now fully in the spotlight. “It was the right time.”

So what’s next for Ishimoto?

He said he doesn’t like thinking too much about the future. But “So You Think You Can Dance” is a stepping stone he said.

“I want to do it all,” he said. “I’ve never seen a dancer do it all. There’s more work to be done.”